new and noteworthy tv: 2/26-3/4

With the closing of the Olympics comes the starting of a few more shows. I’ve had a little bit of a lull and started to dip back into things like Agents of SHIELD and Queen Sugar as well as keeping trucking on some streaming.

  • iZombie (CW) Season Premiere, Monday, 9pm – I find this show very fun as our Zombie gal helps solve crimes, and now that Zombies are more exposed what will happen to her friends and foes?
  • Living Biblically (CBS) Series Premiere, Monday, 9:30pm – This sitcom lands its protagonist in an effort to live the good life by the ways of the bible, though not a lot of strong reports.
  • Good Girls (NBC) Series Premiere, Monday, 10pm – Good cast and what sounds like an iffy execution are still worth a watch as good moms go bad aka start robbing.
  • McMafia (AMC) Series Premiere, Monday, 10pm – Drama, suspense, family… as we see how this Russian exile trying to live the straight and narrow get drawn into global crime, supposedly a good POV.
  • Shoot the Messenger (WGN) Series Premiere, Monday, 10pm – Another crime drama this one starting with a reporter heading to meet a source, no report on the quality of this one.
  • UnReal (Life) Season Premiere, Monday, 10pm – The first season of this was great but the second was a train-wreck of disappointment so I’ll give this one a look but I’m not all that hopeful.
  • Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious BIG (USA) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 10pm – One reports indicates that this true crime drama is a cut above Menendez but not quite American Crime Story.
  • The Looming Tower (Hulu) Series Premiere, Wednesday – A fictional look based on the nonfiction book about the lack of sharing of info between CIA and FBI and the possible impact on the rise of Bin Laden, led by Peter Sarsgaard and getting some good buzz.
  • Glam Masters (Life) Series Premiere, Wednesday, 10pm – A friend of mine was just saying she might need a makeup reality show to supplement ANTM and Runway perhaps this might fit the bill.
  • Atlanta (Fx) Season Premiere, Thursday, 10pm – This irregularly toned Donald Glover helmed look at his life in Atlanta was one of my faves though it’s been a while since it wrapped toward the end of 2016.
  • B: The Beginning (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – A new anime has characters in a world of advanced technology, crime, and action.
  • The Good Fight (CBSAA) Season Premiere, Sunday – As a big fan of The Good Wife I still couldn’t buy into the model of paying for more individual channels but hoping this spinoff is still bringing some good.
  • Oscars (ABC) Sunday, 5pm – Following an hour+ of arrivals it’s time to see who wears what, says what, and takes home the statues.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 6/6-6/12

unreal2Well I am definitely excited for the return of UnReal, and early critical buzz is it’s still good. Too much of last week was spent watching the so bad I can’t turn away Hemlock Grove on Netflix, I was after all looking for something junky.

  • Barbarians Rising (Hist) Series Premiere, Monday, 9pm – The barbarian side of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.
  • UnReal (Life) Season Premiere, Monday, 10pm – This was one of my favorite shows from last year a surprisingly riveting look behind the scenes of an imaginary Bachelor type dating show, Bachelor viewing not required,
  • Casual (Hulu) Season Premiere, Tuesday, 3am – I don’t get Hulu but this is supposed to be good.
  • People’s List (ABC) Saturday, 8pm – From People Magazine I believe they’re telling us who is currently being talked about.
  • OJ: Made in America (ABC) Saturday, 9pm – This docuseries is supposed to be quite well done and a nice complement if you recently wrapped the FX series, don’t miss the secondary episodes when they move to ESPN.
  • Tony Awards (CBS) Sunday, 8pm – Didn’t we already just award everything to Hamilton?
  • Still the King (CMT) Series Premiere, Sunday, 9pm – A new half hour comedy where a one hit wonder played by Billy Ray Cyrus returns home to find he’s got more family than when he left.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.

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procrastinator picks – top tv of 2015

I tend to internally mock critics who say they can’t narrow it down to 10, but seriously too much out there, it’s impossible. I kept it to ten but I did cop out this year and put them in alphabetical order. My caveats as usual, these probably aren’t the best shows out but ones that I personally enjoyed, and I can’t completely rate on just an individual season. Also my usual clarification that I don’t get high end cable so those shows might be on my to do list but they won’t be here, plus shows that I’m behind on like Mad Men and Rectify (which I love).

  • The 100 (CW) – The dynamics amongst all the factions in this post-apocalyptic world have increased in quantity and in stakes and it’s moved beyond the pretty young things CW slant, though certainly maintained the pretty people.
  • The Americans (Fx) – Spy mom and dad and great spy wigs sure keep getting in and mostly out of fixes, and the relationships with others keep getting more complicated, what are the chances that bringing in spy kids will go smoothly?
  • The Good Wife (CBS) – I didn’t love running for office Alicia but starting over yet again Alicia brought yet another new spin on this rich cast of characters that just keeps me entertained with the cases and the personal lives where there’s not always a real right.
  • Humans (AMC) – Lots of riffs out there on the androids taking over but this truly human look at a group of unanticipated aware and feeling synths and their interactions with each other, the humans around them, society as a whole and of course some ‘evil’ corporation kept me all in.
  • Jessica Jones (Net) – A new crop of great series on Netflix but this less Marvel-ish Marvel is the one that truly made me want to binge as I enjoyed the tough damaged lead and her fight against uber creepy villian with the help and hindrance of some good supports.
  • Justified (Fx) – The last season brought back much of what I loved about the series, Raylan was someone we all fell in love with as he fought the good fight in sometimes the wrong ways to hunt down folks as only a Marshall near his own Harlan, Kentucky hometown can do.
  • Mr. Robot (USA) – This is the show that put USA on the map this year and it was quite a big swing, the lead Rami Malek really should get much of the credit for carrying this peculiar character in a psychotic split between computer hacking, and well hacking, tempted to go back and watch again.
  • Orphan Black (BBCA) – This admittedly wasn’t my favorite season of this show but I love it so much even a dip in the distractions to the clone club from the boy clones couldn’t dampen my love for the performances of Tatiana Maslany and her band of supporters.
  • UnREAL (Life) – My fave new campy show this look behind the scenes of a Bacheloresque show had so many layers as we follow Producer Rachel trying to come back from her own personal drama while the manipulations on and off camera reach new highs, or should I say lows, and I’m not a Bachelor watcher.
  • You’re the Worst (Fxx) – The first season of this show won me over with a new twist on the rom com by playing into and out of the stereotypes as the characters were all a mess, and the second season delved into Gretchen’s mess/depression in a way that was able to include some truly funny moments in what was a dramatic and sensitive, amazing work by Aya Cash.

My honorable mentions were giving me too much stress so I’ve even eliminated those. What were some of your favorites from last year?

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